Did Fake Photos Skew Georgian War Coverage?

Several blogs are reporting that images by wire-service photographers from the conflict between Russia and Georgia were staged. The faked pictures, the blogs contend, helped spread pro-Georgian propaganda.
      The images in question were made by Reuters photographers David Mdzinarishvili and Gleb Garanich, as well as George Abdaladze of Associated Press.
      Certain details in the images have spurred the speculation. For instance, the same grieving Georgian man appears in several separate series of pictures. Reuters has released a statement denying the charges. Go here to read more.--David Schonauer

Comments

[Peter Marshall]

Hi, I had a good look at all the pictures by the Reuters photographers last Sunday and made a post about it on >Re:PHOTO (re-photo.co.uk) and also on the site where I'd come across the story.

It is clear that some of the claims on the blogs doubting the pictures are simply untrue, and I think some others suggest a lack of photographic experience and also a failure to appreciate that conflict situations are by nature confused.

I looked through all the pictures on Reuters of the two incidents - and much other work from the 2 photographers concerned - some great stuff by the way. I came to the conclusion was that there was no evidence of faking or staging of pictures by Mdzinarishvili or Garanich.

There are too many bloggers around who are willing to damn photographers and jump to conclusions on insufficient evidence or without proper examination of the evidence.

Of course Reuters haven't always got it right - and I did link to a feature which looked at some of their errors. But I don't think this is one,

Peter

[brad barr]

I dont see it....sounds like the propaganda is in the complaint not the images...
brad
http://bciphoto.com/blog

[Pete]

Blatantly staged. Just look at the scene and think.

How many photos can you think of where a doctor is convieniently dressed in surgical gear to pick up dead people from an empty street? He would be busy in the hospital with casualties.

Note how all the people are inside the picture, the dead man face down, the hospital staff carrying another man almost over the top of the one on the floor. The 'shocked' onlooker not helping at all (who is the same man crying in the 2nd photo).

The dead man face down on the floor is then in a separate location when the other man is crying over him. The most god-awful fake pictures - and the West laps it up in the same way that we think Russia is responsible for a DDOS attack on a Georgian blogger... !